TOOL TIME: Drivers

On my last article I talked about the bare basics that you would need to perform a simple strap swap. For something like that, you basically only need one Phillips head driver and the spring bar tool. So today I'll talk about the drivers that you will need to work on your G-Shocks in general. Of course you can always buy the drivers one by one, as you need them, but in my experience it's easier and cheaper to buy a complete set.

The first set you should buy is obviously a good Phillips head set. I formerly recommend Wiha, a fantastic brand for the money, but there are other pretty good brands out there, some even cheaper and basically just as good. Before the Wiha set I used one from Stanley that is VERY good also - I just switched to Wiha because they have a much wider selection of drivers and I prefer to have my tools as uniform as possible (don't ask, it's a wrench head thing ). Whatever good set you choose, be sure that it has at least drivers in #0 and #00 sizes. You'll never use a #1 on a watch and the #000 is nice to have (for what I like to call "just in case" - JIC), but I doubt it will see much action on a G-Shock.

You rarely will need flat heads for a G-Shock, since nowadays Casio basically only uses Phillips head screws, but flat heads were used on the bezel of some vintage models. Like with the previous set, you basically only need two sizes: 2 mm and 1 mm. In fact, the one you will use the most is the 1 mm, because that's the size of the screw used on the trimmer screw inside the module, where you can make the watch faster or slower by tightening or loosening the screw. The 2 mm driver would be to remove the bezel of some vintage models, but the 3 mm and 4 mm drivers are basically for JIC.

As I showed with my vintage Muddy 8400, there are exceptions to the rule where Casio only uses Phillips head on bezels and straps. The principal reason why I bought an Allen set was because of my beloved GW-A1000, that also has Allen head screws on the strap.

At the time I bought this set, this was the smallest set I could find from Wiha, and it has drivers in 0.7 mm, 0.9 mm, 1.3 mm, 1.5 mm, 2 mm, 2.5 mm and 3 mm. Fortunately, Casio doesn't use Allen screws very much, but on the current Aviators the straps are secured in place by Allen screws, so if you plan on removing the strap on those models it would be wise to get at least a 1.5 mm Allen driver.

If you're into Frogs, you will see on the bezel of a few versions a couple of Torx screws. "Oh boy, you mean I have to buy a Torx set too?!? ", no Virginia, calm down. Those are only decorative screws, they're there just to look cute - they don't hold anything in place and you basically pop them off from the inside after removing the upper part of the bezel. So you're free of buying a Torx set .

I guess that's it. There's still one more issue I would like to talk about drivers, and it's an important one, so I'll leave that for a future article.
Keep on wrenching!

Awesome job! Really instructive... just great - after these freaks in the forum made me keep buying more and more watches, now you're going to get me to start taking them apart as well... seriously though - very generous of you to share your experience with us!
please say Hi to Virginia for me!

I'm glad you liked it, grip! If all goes well I intend to cover the basics as best as I can. I'm definitively not a watchmaker or anything close, but since Gs are so robust even a klutz like me can do the basics. And trust me on this: once you start doing your own tinkering, you WILL appreciate these watches even more .

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